For too long the tortured Tartan Army’s mantra remained: ‘It’s the hope that kills you’.
Yet for Craig Brown - still the last man to guide Scotland to a World Cup Finals 24 years ago - the outcry that accompanied failure to reach major tournaments back in the 90s was akin to having killed someone himself.
Having qualified for five consecutive World Cups between 1974 and 1990 the nation expected - not hoped - to take it’s place at the greatest show on earth.
When that remarkable run finally came to an end ahead of USA 94 there was uproar.
Thankfully Brown, who had been assistant to Andy Roxburgh for that qualifying campaign in which we finished behind Italy, Switzerland and Portugal in a ridiculously hard group, restored normality four years later by guiding Scotland to France 98.
But then came the barren years. More than two decades and five World Cups in the wilderness.
Expectation had turned to forlorn hope among the footsoldiers on the terraces.
That was until Steve Clarke arrived on the scene exactly three years ago and began a restoration job that saw us end the major finals exile by leading Scotland to last year’s European Championships.
A year on and Scotland stand on the cusp again with a first World Cup since Brown’s heroes opened France 98 against Brazil looming like a giant promised land ahead of two huge play-off hurdles in the shape of Ukraine and then Wales.
Brown is confident. Not only that but he believes the expectation which for too long turned to hope is reverting back to confidence again.
Brown said: “It’s quite amazing it’s been so long since we were at a World Cup.
“When I was in the job if you didn’t qualify - and I was the assistant when we failed to qualify in 94 - then you thought you’d killed your next of kin.
“There was an expectation back then.
“But then that turned to hope as more campaigns passed by without Scotland getting there.
“Now I would say it’s becoming more of an expectation again thanks to the way the team is playing.
“I’m expecting us to qualify. We have a superb manager and an outstanding team so I’m very optimistic about what’s going to happen in the next few days.
“Steve is a football manager of capability. There have been very good managers down the years who maybe just didn’t have the luck required.
“Gordon Strachan, Alex McLeish, they didn’t manage to qualify but they never had the quality of squad.
“I had a better squad in the 1990s than they had - in 1998 I had three players who had just won the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, Colin Hendry, Billy McKinlay and Kevin Gallacher.
“This is the best group of players since then.
“Players come in cycles and we are on a good one right now. There’s fantastic quality in the team and the manager has them reading off the same hymn sheet.”
While Brown, now 81, is confident Clarke’s players can negotiate two very difficult play-off fixtures, he’s also well aware of the threat posed by Ukraine.
Not only is Oleksandr Petrakov’s side full of quality but they also have the added motivation to give their war-torn country and victimised nation something to cheer.
And the manager himself has a cv which has caught Brown’s eye having won the World U20 Championship with Ukraine back in 2019.
Brown reckons it’s a worry that not one of that U20 side featured in Ukraine’s last qualifiers.
He said: “We have a tricky game here. Petrakov won the World U20 Championship with Ukraine three years ago.
“If the best U20 players in the world three years ago are now 22-23 and not in his side it tells you the level of team he has.
“Petrakov is unbeaten in seven matches, although five of them were draws .. that’s my trick!
“He has worked right through the age groups for the past 12 years - from U16s right up to the top team - a bit like Andy Roxburgh who won the Euro Championships with the Scotland U18 team.
“A lot of players like Paul McStay, Pat Nevin and these guys came through to the first team with him.
“So Petrakov knows the talent available to him.
“There will also be an edge to Ukraine’s performance. They are representing their country which has been so heavily victimised and they are out to prove something.
“They want to give their country a morale boost. Everyone in football will want Ukraine to win. If I wasn’t Scottish I would want them to win.”
Clarke faces a huge decision at the left side of defence where Kieran Tierney misses out through injury.
But Brown reckons there’s a ready made replacement.
He said: “You saw at the weekend how good Scott McKenna is. He reminds me of David Weir.
“They are both intelligent guys and very humble.
“I actually remember saying to the press back in the day that David was son in law material. He phoned me later and said ‘what’s this all about?!’
“But McKenna is like that. He is humble off the park but on it he has the unassuming manner of Weir.
“He might be more left-sided but he has the same authority without being the type who goes out shouting the odds.
“When David said something in the dressing room he was respected, I feel McKenna has that presence too.”
• Craig Brown was talking at the launch of the book Scotland’s Swedish Adventure: The Story of Scotland’s European Championship Debut by John Bleasdale.
